OOC:

Let's get some welcome posts in. I have an idea for a mission in mind but i need to see some participation to let me know it's worth going through with. Have at it, people

It was high noon and the sun was beating down on his face. It was an unusually hot day, and the lack of cloud cover made the heat radiate around him, up in small drafts from the asphalt cooking below his feet. His throat was beginning to dry up, and his scalp felt like it was on fire.

The first thing i'll do as squad leader is block out the sun...

The tan skin on his was stinging red by the time he arrived at his new office.

There wasn't much around but a desk and a very comfortable looking reclining chair, but Gio wasn't one to complain. All he needed was a bottle of good whiskey, a peasant beater, and a stress reliever and this place would feel like home.

But for now, he would have to settle for the whiskey.

"Hmmm," he said to himself, looking around the room and noticing things left behind by former squad leaders.

He set his bag down and unloaded his stringed instrument, a few ribbons, a portrait of his family, and a new bottle of Corellian whiskey along with a datapad containing the information of his new squad.

"As my first act as Squad Leader of Paladin squad," he said, reaching for a cup from his desk "I think i'll have myself a drink." He cracked open the seal on the bottle and let the aroma waft to his nostrils.

Pouring the liquid slowly into his cup, he admired the bouquet, before stopping himself and wondering what the hell he was doing delaying the ingestion of this rich, warm substance.

The holopad flashed, acknowledging the message he sent out to the remaining squad members. He wanted to know if they were alive, first and foremost. But secondly, he wanted them to come down and have a drink with their new squad leader. Call me unorthodox, he said to himself, But the family that drinks together, stays together.

He chuckled and then stopped and sighed. He was crazy.

Baretz Sonok had just settled in out of the training facility.  He was dressed down to casuals, and just lounging on his bed waiting for contact from his superiors.  His holopad emitted the obnoxious, high-pitched beep, and his right arm moved from beneath his resting head to the pockets of his black leather jacket.  His spine rolled his neck up, causing an awkward placement of his chin on his sharp collarbones.  He looked at the message and grinned sharply once reading it.  His pelvis twisted, and his legs followed, until they contorted under him his boots landing on the floor beneath him, and he stood up strolling through the barracks towards the meetings location. 
  He passed through the halls, having noted the layout on his arrival earlier this day, he now strolled from memory.  He walked normally, his arms swaying to and fro with each large stride.  The new leather boots on his feet groaned under his massive frame, and finally he came to the door his Squad Leader would dwell within.  He saw a woman's back, and the man sitting inside.  His right hand wrapped gently on the frame of the room, as he leaned to the left, to peer around the woman's form. 

"Private First Class Baretz Sonok, reporting for duty, sir."

His voice was a medium range, and held some enthusiasm. By the sound of his voice it was a duty he could appreciate.

"At ease,"

Gio put his cup down and settled back in his chair. He kicked his feet onto the desk and shot a smile at the first trooper who had entered.

She was a short female around his age. He recognized her instantly as Ievit Olphert. He had seen her around the cantina on Tadath before but never exchanged more than a greeting with the woman.

"Thanks for responding on such a short notice," the man brought his feet back down and moved his chair up closer to the desk. "I realize it's a little early in the day, especially on a weekend."

The Corporal took one look at her new squad leader and simply shrugged.

"Um, alright then. Drink?"

She shook her head and stood there, having clearly lost interest in what the man had to say. Well, i'm not off to a great start...

At that moment a huge young man walked in and peered around Finch. He couldn't recognize him and he wasn't on his datapad list, but he was altogether pleased.

"Private First Class Baretz Sonok, reporting for duty, sir." He snapped a crisp salute typical of a new recruit.

Giovanni looked up from his mahogany desk at the towering specimen before him for a moment. "Welcome aboard, Private. It's certainly good to have you." Baretz brought his hand down from his forehead and let it settle at his side.

"Baretz, meet Corporal Finch," Finch looked over and nodded, then went back to looking around the room she had been in many times before with her previous squad leaders.

"And as i'm sure you've heard, my name's Giovanni. What do you drink?"

"Well, a nice whiskey on the rocks never hurt anyone, sir!" he barked back to him. Giovanni chuckled at his enthusiasm. It reminded him of his first days in the Dark Dragoon squad, many years ago.

"Please guys, take a seat." he walked around and moved the chairs a little closer to his desk to try and create some kind of closeness with his troopers. His previous leaders had done a great job of making him feel at home in his squad, and he had made friends with almost all of them. He wanted to emulate this style of leadership now that he had been given the chance to command his own squad.

At that moment, the last trooper on his list and his newly appointed Assistant Squad Leader (though she didn't know it at the time) knocked and peeked by the side of the door.

Her and Gio exchanged salutes and he motioned for her to come sit down. She wasn't much of a drinker. He had read her file.

"Well now that I have you all here, let me introduce myself again. My name is Giovanni and i have been put in charge of Paladin squad. I've brought you all together here not to get drunk with me, but to explain your next mission." He stopped for a moment to let it sink in and saw that Baretz' eyes opened wide in some moment of joy.

"And also to announce Senior Sergeant Luckystar as my assistant squad leader." He shot a smile to Lucky who looked around in disbelief for a brief moment.

"Alright guys, let's get down to business." He downed the rest of his whiskey and put the cup down on his desk where the moisture was creating a faint white blue ring on the unlacquered wood. He made a mental note to take care of that and continued with his pseudo speech.

"As you may know, Paladin squad's specialty is mechanized infantry but i aim to change that before our next campaign. So...," he concluded "You will all be trying out our next specialty and putting the equipment through its rounds for me. If at any point you decide this is a bad idea, we'll drop it and go back to our old specialty."

Curiosity struck the three troopers, but only Baretz decided to raise his hand and ask "What exactly is our specialty going to be, sir?"

"You'll see" was the cryptic answer Giovanni had for them. "You'll all see." He sat back in his chair and cackled for a while, much to the chagrin of Lucky and Finch. Baretz was probably as excited as he was.

"Meet me bright and early tomorrow in Hangar bay 1141. 0600 hours. Dismissed!"

As the last of the troopers exited his office, Giovanni breathed a sigh of relief.

That was a lot harder than i thought...He thought to himself.

In his attempt to impress his squad and instill some sense of loyalty into them, he had effectively made himself look like a total cheeseball. The drinks he was having were of no help to him either.

They'd forget all about it tomorrow, however. After all, he had a few surprises in store for them. He planned to bring some changes to Paladin, and hopefully, cement their place as one of the top squadrons in the division.

He stopped daydreaming long enough to find his way back to his living quarters and changed his clothes into something a bit more casual and a lot less sweaty. The grumbling of his stomach sent a distinct message to his brain. He was hungry as hell.

He lifted up his mattress and pulled out some Imperial Credits, then laughed at himself for storing his credits under his mattress. He finished dressing up, strapped his boots and headed out to the cafeteria. With a little luck he might catch someone from Paladin and get to know them a little better. At least he'd get some food in his stomach.

He stopped thinking to himself in the first person narrative and walked out onto the hall and towards the dining hall.

"No need for formalities Corporal," he said, waving off her salute. "I'm sorry i crashed into you. My mind must have been elsewhere. Are you ok?" He forgot about his hunger for the time being and focused his attention on the young woman he had almost run over.

She saw the young woman attempting to get her bearings and straightening out her white, long-sleeve shirt. "Yeah, i'm fine." Her cheeks were rosy, whether from embarassment or something else, Gio couldn't tell.

"And don't call me sir. I'm not that old yet. Gio will do." he gave her a reassuring smile, trying his best to befriend her. He hardly knew anyone from Storm, but he was looking to change that.

"Uh yeah, sure." she responded, still in attention.

"Um, if you don't have anywhere to go right now, maybe you'd like to go get a bite to eat with me?" he raised an inquisitive eyebrow at Finch. He feared she might not take him up on this offer from a complete stranger, but he figured it was worth the shot.

Finch shook her head, "We were both at fault, si- Gio," She said the name carefully, as if she had never heard such a thing before. Her pronunciation caused her squad leader to crack a smile and her cheeks to redden a bit more. No one had called her by her given name, not since she had left Celdaru. Then again, Ievita-LaRue was a rather odd first name. So, what should she tell him to call her?

"You can call me Ievit, if you like," She said, her eyes curious, "Though no one does. And I think I would quite enjoy sharing a meal with you, if you think we have enough time."

Baretz didn't have much to do in the base.  So, until Eleven Hundred he could just walk around.  He was bored, and seaking out whatever he could find to do, and he had already finished his morning work out routine, and if he did more it could be counterproductive.  He found himself at the rifle range practicing with the E-11 /M.  He was getting better and better at medium range with sniper rifles, he just needed to work on long range more.  So, in his free time at the base, he found himself firing bolt after bolt towards the targets towards the back of the shooting range.  He took aim at the time, and with the countless shots it got closer and closer to death that he wished upon it.

"Well, as good as alcohol is, it isn't exactly my life." He picked up a tray and some silverware as well. Passing the veritable trough of food that was the cafeteria, he settled on some kind of soup and a roll of bread.

"I like music, and every once in a while I'll work out. If I'm not feeling too lazy to get out of bed..." He forgot for a second he was a squad leader now. He didn't exactly want to tell people he was a lazy bum anymore.

Out of the corner of his eye, Gio spotted Lucky, who waved him and Ievit over to an empty table.

"Looks like Lucky beat us here..." said Ievit, as she began to walk over, tray and cup in hand.

Gio sat down across from Lucky and wasted no time. He made short work of his soup in only a few minutes. The man was hungry.

Lucky and Ievit were busy making small talk. From what he understood, the two joined the squad and the army at around the same time and had been friends ever since.

Giovanni looked down at his watch and saw that he had to get going.

"Sorry guys, but i have to make some preparations for tomorrow." He rose from the table hurriedly and picked up his tray.

"I'll be seeing you guys bright and early tomorrow morning. Don't forget!" Lucky and Ievit waved goodbye and Giovanni left the dining hall as quickly as he had come in.

He was almost late for the delivery of the new equipment.

He booked it to the hangar bay as fast as his feet would allow him.

The meeting the night before had been uneventful. Upon arriving to the hangar bay, he greeted the shuttle pilot and proceeded to examine his wares. Everything seemed to be in working order, without so much as a scratch to the valuable equipment he had custom ordered, out of his own pocket. It would all be ready for the next day. Hopefully, the troopers would find it a pleasant surprise. At least, that’s what he had hoped.

He walked out of the hangar feeling pretty satisfied with himself and his squad. He had been a soldier for the empire for a little over three years, and in those three years he had done a lot. He had waged battle in many different planets, against all races and sentient beings, some of which he had never known about prior to placing them in his sights. He had climbed steadily up the ranks and made a name for himself.

Now, here he was, placed in command of his squad, and as assistant to the Commander of Storm platoon.

He couldn’t help but feel proud.

He had joined the Vast Empire simply to find a place to make a steady income and to find his place in the galaxy, as cliché as it sounded. He had managed to do considerably more, and he was only getting started.

Shortly upon arriving at his living quarters, sleep overtook him and he passed out on his bed. He set his alarm for 0530 and laid his uniform down on a chair next to the bed. He was anxious to see the squad’s reaction.

At 0450; the crescent moon uplifted the dreadful waves of Tadath with its bountiful moonlight. Upon reaching the vicinity of Hangar bay 1141, Brock uttered the last words of his brother’s will, whom served a military service in the Galactic Empire.

The highest destiny of an individual is rather to serve than to rule.

Without hesitation, he slightly sobbed his tears before arriving at sector 1141. Brock took a steep step from the B-A7 Airspeeder, almost as if hesitating to meet the crew. He landed on the ground, and turned back and saluted the ship’s lieutenant. Brock kept his cool while strolling the quiet night, until a tempest was seen far east of the bay. He looked with perception at the nearby storm, and quickly sprinted towards the main entrance of the building, where all the squad members where held at.

Brock entered the building using the security code given to him to access the building. He silently walked through the dark hallways, when noticing his stomach growl in desperation. He quickly turned the flashlight from his utility belt, and traveled the narrowed building until he found a corridor; which led to his room located besides the others. He opened the door, and left his belonging’s from the training academy inside the equipment compartment, and silently headed back to the main entrance, in search of a place to feed his already growing impatiently hunger.

After 30 minutes before finding the cafeteria, Brock feasted on the many sorts of delights the cafeteria had to offer. The smell of Corellian whiskey was shortly noticed by Brock, as he began to walk towards the odor in pleasant delight. Grabbing an unopened bottle, and a glass; halve filled with grizzled ice, he headed towards what was the main room near the entrance, and gazed through the window. As the tempest continued to cause subversion in the bay, the tides grew intensively strong. Nevertheless when drink after drink passed, the storm was able to find another route and suddenly moved away from the area. With an overly tired look on his face, Brock dropped to his knees, and rested near the door, where he slumbered as daylight got bright and the time was about the light.

The Shuttle ride to his new assignment the day before was long, and after the academy, welcome.

When Kreic arrived at his new home,at least, for now, he took a shower. After which, he stored his off duty clothes, and his few personal belongings.

He took a few hours before going to bed to read up on thee squad. He wasn't the only New Member, A Private Brock Vik had also been assigned.

The next morning when Kreic alarm went off, he got up with a moan. He never was a morning person, but he enjoyed his job. So much so, he didn't mind waking up at ungodly times in the morning.

He put on his battle dress uniform. He hadn't been given his weapons or armor yet, so all he had were full dress, and duty uniforms. It would have to do.

He got the message to report to the hanger the night before, and so , like a good little soldier, he did. When he got there, he saw two men.

One wearing Gunnery Sergeant's pins, and the other wearing Private's pins. "Private Kreic Eldari Reporting as ordered, Sir."

Baretz woke up at his normal time of 0400 hours, and he went out for his morning jog, followed by his morning smoke, by 0500 he had jogged 0430 he had jogged three miles, went back to change into his uniform, and had three Lung Blasters.  He found himself walking inside the meeting at that time precisely, and he walked past Gio and Lucky, as well as the two newer recruits than himself.  He stood off to the side, not speaking a word.  He was the silent, brooding type, and they seemed to respect that for now, but his wild enthusiasms and drive might of shown through his dark hazel eyes, with flashes of glee or hatred at the sound of battle, it was hard to gauge his emotion with the cold omnipresent grin that adorned his lips, but maybe he was just crazier than the average handful of recruits in this place.  It was anyone's guess, really.

Baretz brought a hand to his lip examining the equipment, and then he pointed to the second TI-47 Deathwind Slugthrower.  He whistled softly, and then turned his head towards his Squad Leader.

"That's mine, right?"

He remarked, half jokingly, half seriously.  He was a great shot, and he wagered given his ability to snipe, it'd not be too off basis to assume the second one would belong to him.  The rest of the stuff he was proud to have, but he did favor the slugthrower over the standard E-11 /M.  His tongue moved to wet his lips, as he looked up at the pondering squad leader for an answer.

“Um, sir, I was just, uh…wondering if… maybe…I could…” Giovanni had never seen Baretz this nervous. He knew exactly what the Lance Corporal wanted to ask for, but he liked seeing him out of his element like this, so he played stupid.

“If you could carry my things over to my apartment for me? Sure, thanks for asking.” With that, he placed his case full of heavy armor plating, another smaller one with his weapons, and a small sack full of the rest of the things on the list. The COM links were necessary. The towels, maybe even more.

With the young up-and-coming Baretz behind him, lugging not only Giovanni’s equipment but his own as well, Gio walked over to pick up the only case left. The second Slugthrower was on the ground by itself. Apparently everyone else assumed it had been reserved for the squad leader. In all honesty, Giovanni didn’t care much for sniper rifles. A regular rifle outfitted with a decent iron sight provided him with all the range and stopping power he needed for the job.

He lifted up the case and hummed to himself. He would bring it along anyway. They would probably need it for their next mission.

-----

Baretz damn near dropped all the cases on the floor in front of Gio’s living quarters from exhaustion. He slowly picked his arm up and gave a sloppy salute, hyperventilating and slowly crouching down to pick up his half of the equipment.

“Hey” The SL called out the young man, now starting to walk away to his own quarters.

Giovanni tossed the case with the sniper rifle in it, causing him to drop the rest of his stuff on the ground.

“Take good care of it.”

He walked in and piled his things up on the far wall. There was one thing, however, that wasn’t at the hangar. By his orders, he had had it delivered to his room. Now, the large case came up to his waist. On top of it was a control device.

His Prowler 1000 droid had arrived. He would be invaluable for reconnaissance and unmanned infiltration. He would be their eyes and ears. He needed a name.

“I think I’ll call you… PAL-1.”

Lucky took her things and started to head to her quarters. She was happy with her new equipment. She would take even better care of this armor, than she had her old one.  she would only use the old armor for the missions that weren't with the squad or platoon.

On the way to her quarters, she saw baretz huffing and puffing behind Gio , his arms full of heavy gear. She thought terrible that Gio made a new member carry his things for him , and wanted to help Baretz , but didn't dare do anything for fear of being reprimanded.

She only hoped that the Lance Corporal wouldn't be too sore or exhausted from all that heavy-lifting.

When she finally got to her quarters, she too kout her keycard , entered the correct security code, and the door swung inward to reveal her small "office".

It was mainly a desk with a computer, printer /fax and phone on the otehr end. she went to her bedroom , set her gear down , took out the old armor and put it in  a case for later and instead put the matte case in the place of honor. 

She decided to go to the gym , either do some weight training or wrestle with some of the men and then have lunch.

With one last look around, she left he rliving quarters and walked to the small sports complex.